Quick Thoughts on the Pacers’ universe
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
C.J. Watson was excited for his 5-year-old daughter Ayanna to start kindergarten today. While playing in the NBA is a thrill for these guys, for many, being a good parent is their most important role.
On a loaded roster, I don’t know what Danny Granger’s on-court role will be, but whether he likes it or not, I do believe he’ll accept it.
Try to spot Watson at Lucas Oil Stadium this fall. Long before he ever chose to play in Indianapolis, Watson was a Colts fan. Let’s just hope he doesn’t get the sudden urge to play receiver. Word is Chuck Pagano needs a few more of those, and Watson drank from the same high school water fountain as Atlanta Falcons running back Steven Jackson.
If Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson really are retiring, the league has lost two of its all-time great talents. Few remember this, but the Pacers tried in 2004 to acquire McGrady, who was dealt that summer from Orlando to Houston for – mainly – Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley. Team president Larry Bird was disappointed in the Magic, telling reporters, “They might have got a better deal from us.”
Franchise history would look a lot different had Bird pulled that off, although things might have worked out for the best. In 5 ½ seasons with Houston, McGrady missed 160 of 463 games. About a third of the time, he was unavailable, making him the Ken Griffey Jr. of basketball. Wonderful player. Couldn’t stay in uniform. And all the Rockets have to show for the McGrady era is four playoff series losses and one playoff series win. McGrady didn’t even play in the one victory. So, essentially, the Pacers didn’t miss out on a whole lot.
An interesting footnote, however, is that McGrady seemed to be a rare superstar content to live and work in small-market Indianapolis. “From what I’ve heard, we’re his second choice,” Bird said after the 2004 draft. “If he doesn’t come to Houston, he’d like to come here.”
The Pacers battled Iverson three straight years in the playoffs, twice eliminating the high-scoring guard in his prime, before Iverson finally prevailed in 2001 and led Philadelphia to a first-round win. Pacers fans went back and forth with Iverson during his career. “The Answer” once was fined $5,000 by the NBA for derogatory remarks aimed at the fieldhouse crowd.
Reggie Miller admired Iverson’s toughness. That’s what you’ll remember as much as anything else. Iverson, so small, took more punishment than a piñata and always bounced right up. He was one of a kind.
Training camp begins a month from Wednesday. Oh, how the time flies. Frank Vogel’s comment about the Pacers being content with 13 players, two below the maximum roster size, was interesting. I still suspect they’ll add some career backup with legitimate height. Pickings are thin.
If the Cavaliers hit their ceiling, they’re a 50-win team. Since realignment in 2004, the Eastern Conference has never had three 50-win teams in one division. The West has done so five times. While that factoid is more evidence of the West’s longstanding superiority, it’s also a hint the East is due. This year’s Central – with the Bulls, Pacers and resurgent Cleveland – might finally give the East a competitive division.
It is hard to think of any term more overused by sports journalists than the word “confidence.” When almost anything positive happens, players and coaches are asked whether “confidence” was gained. I’m sure that 37-point second quarter made the players feel better about themselves at halftime. But which was more valuable: some intangible “confidence” or the 37 on the scoreboard? Sometimes, in the scrum of an NBA locker room, it’s as if reporters forget this isn’t little league.
Due to schedule variation, the Pacers get only six games instead of eight against the abysmal Bobcats and 76ers. That’s a tough break. Last season, though, Indiana played just six against Brooklyn and Miami. As with most aspects of the NBA schedule, it all evens out.
Roy Hibbert vowed on Twitter he’ll be improved this fall. Tough to top what he did in the postseason. That was Hibbert as we’ve never seen him before. As was that recent workout photo, which is beginning to reach mythological proportions.
